BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 6 LSU (17-4) plays host to South Alabama (10-8) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
The game can be heard in Baton Rouge on WTGE 100.7 FM, and it will be televised by Cox Sports Television. Live video, audio and stats of the game may be accessed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live.
LSU opened SEC play last weekend by dropping two of three games at No. 3 Vanderbilt. The Tigers play host to Georgia this weekend at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
“South Alabama has a tremendous baseball tradition, and they have a very strong program,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “(South Alabama coach) Mark Calvi is a former assistant coach at South Carolina, and he’s done a great job since he’s been at South Alabama. They’ve beaten Arkansas two out of three this season, and they also have a win over Southern Miss. Our focus needs to be on this game before we start looking ahead to Georgia.”
Mainieri said junior left-hander Cody Glenn (1-1) will start Wednesday’s game for the Tigers, while South Alabama coach Mark Calvi will counter with senior right-hander Matt Bell (2-2).
LSU’s Saturday doubleheader at Vanderbilt ended a rigorous stretch of 10 games in 11 days for the Tigers. LSU posted an 8-2 mark over that period with the only losses coming to the Commodores. LSU had won seven consecutive SEC road series prior to dropping two games to the Commodores over the weekend; the Tigers’ last SEC road series loss prior to last weekend came on April 20-22, 2012 at Kentucky.
Sophomore centerfielder Andrew Stevenson‘s hitting streak ended at 17 games after the second game of the doubleheader at Vanderbilt. Stevenson provided the game-winning hit in Friday’s victory at Vanderbilt, a two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth inning that gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead Stevenson leads the Tigers in hitting on the year, batting .393 with four triples, 13 RBI and 14 runs. R
Relievers Zac Person, Parker Bugg and Joe Broussard were instrumental in the Tigers’ 4-2 victory at Vanderbilt on Friday. Person relieved starter Aaron Nola with two out in the seventh inning and recorded a strikeout with a runner at second base to end the inning. Person eventually was credited with the win, his first as an LSU pitcher, as the Tigers scored the go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth inning.
Bugg entered the game to start the bottom of the eighth and allowed only an unearned run in 1.1 innings with no walks and two strikeouts. Broussard entered the game in the ninth with one out and the bases empty and struck out the next two Commodore hitters to earn his third save of the season.
Broussard has a 0.00 ERA in 8.1 innings (nine appearances) with one walk and seven strikeouts, and Person has a 0.00 ERA in 6.1 innings (nine appearances) with two walks and nine strikeouts. Bugg has a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings (nine appearances) with no walks and 12 strikeouts.
LSU’s 8-0 victory over Southern last Wednesday marked the Tigers’ seventh shutout of the season. The LSU record for most shutouts in a season is 10 by the 1996 national championship club.
South Alabama is batting .239 as team with one homer and three steals in 13 attempts. The Jaguars are led at the plate by sophomore infielder Hayden Jones, who is hitting .296 with four doubles and seven RBI. Junior infielder Bud Collura is batting .277 with one double and six RBI.
South Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU, 24-14. The teams first met in 1971, and Wednesday’s game marks the first meeting between the schools since the 1997 NCAA South I Regional in Baton Rouge, when the Tigers defeated the Jaguars twice on the regional’s final day to advance to the College World Series. The schools met seven times in NCAA Regional games from 1989 through 1997, and LSU posted a 5-2 mark in those contests.
South Alabama Jaguars (10-8) at #6 LSU Fighting Tigers (17-4)
DATE/TIME
Wednesday, March 19 – 6:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field (10,326)
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 6 by USA Today; No. 7 by Collegiate Baseball; No. 8 by Baseball America
USA – unranked
RADIO
WTGE 100.7 FM in Baton Rouge
INTERNET
LSUsports.net – live video, audio and stats
TV
Cox Sports Television
SERIES RECORD
South Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU, 24-14. The teams first met in 1971, and Wednesday’s game marks the first meeting between the schools since the 1997 NCAA South I Regional in Baton Rouge, when the Tigers defeated the Jaguars twice on the regional’s final day to advance to the College World Series. The schools met seven times in NCAA Regional games from 1989 through 1997, and LSU posted a 5-2 mark in those contests.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Jr. LHP Cody Glenn (1-1, 4.79 ERA, 20.2 IP, 3 BB, 11 SO)
USA – Sr. RHP Matt Bell (2-2, 5.13 ERA, 26.1 IP, 8 BB, 18 SO)